Ebony And The Dark Coffin: One Year With God

By Emmanuel Graham Nyamekye

It’s been a year since I left without a word. I am with God as you all prayed for and I bring you greetings from Suzy Williams. Since my death could not appease the gods that cause road accidents, I take this singular honour to speak on behalf of my brethren accident victims so that you will know what to do when you get on the road. What have our roads become? A means of transport to our destinations or to death?

Can we think of the number of lives lost to road accidents? Are our roads not losing their purposes for which they were constructed? These questions need to be answered. Do I say accidents will not occur? It will but not regular and brutal where lives are lost. The result of many accidents of late is as a result of indiscipline on the road on the part of road users. Many drivers and passengers are not disciplined. Some other causes of road accidents include over speeding, overtaking, and passengers’ influence.

Most Ghanaian road users are indiscipline. The attitude of drivers and motorists portray their sense of indiscipline on the road. A driver for instance realizing that there is no on-coming vehicle chooses to drive positioning himself in the middle of the road and finds nothing wrong with that. Should there suddenly appear a car, in his attempt to dodge runs into that valley and gets into an accident. The problem is that many road users are indiscipline. Overtaking is also an instance with which many drivers display how undisciplined they are. I do not really get it whether it is the time to show off that your car’s engine is the best or you are the best driver. But the best driver will overtake rightly. It is also boring to know that a vehicle ‘A’ will overtake vehicle ‘B’ then immediately, vehicle ‘B’ also tries to overtake the former. As they repeat this, eventually they run into an accident.

Over-speeding is another cause of road accidents and I want you to desist from it. There are various road signs on the Accra-Takoradi road that tell road users the number of lives that have been lost to road accident as a result of over speeding. Over-speeding has become for many drivers, a hobby. Should you happen to be by the road side, you will be surprise to know whether some drivers are partaking in an Olympic Games or what. Many drivers do not respect the speed limits put beside the roads which purpose are to control accidents. If I were you, I will advise myself from over-speeding for it is not compulsory to speed up till I reach the end of the speedometer. Drive cool and stay out of accidents

Failure to observe road signs are causes of road accidents. Many of the accidents that do occur are as a result of drivers’ negligence. They simply refuse to obey simple road signs. Drivers must take note that these signs are their tutors while driving and therefore the need to obey them. The signs are to guide them drive safely home. At times, we do say that experience is the best teacher, but in driving, one must have the capacity not just to drive but to read simple road signs and obey them.

Passengers’ influences also result in road accident. There have been instances where passengers have influenced drivers’ over speeding, overtaking and any reckless driving. Some passengers who will want to get to their destinations earlier, will ask the driver to speed off. They in turn put pressure on the drivers. Drivers begin to lose concentration and run into accidents. I feel that passengers must think about their safety whenever they are on a vehicle rather than getting to their destinations earlier. I also believe that passengers should rather be a check on drivers and report drivers who drive recklessly to the police.

How do we prevent road accidents in our small way? Drivers must respect and go by the various road signs. Drivers must be taken through a road work shop regularly. The Ministry of Highways must see to it that road signs are placed at places visible to the drivers. They must also plant additional road signs. The police officer must intensify his duty to make sure drivers observe the road signs.

Drivers must also know the various road psychologies. And passengers must learn not to influence drivers to do what is wrong. You must note that any disturbances one causes while on a car may lead the driver to lose control and concentration. This may result in reckless driving, leading to road accidents. Let us all discipline ourselves to prevent road accidents. Heaven is beautiful but do not come there through road accidents. Your sister, Ebony Reigns. Love you all. Till we meet again, work hard.